Machine for twisting snaps for whips



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. G. E. WILLIAMS. MACHINE FOR TWISTING SNAPSFOR WHIP$.

No. 277,967. 3 Patented Ma;y 22,1883.

VV r/l/z e'sse s. m fi ezzfak QR/WM a N. PFIER& Pmmumo n hur, wnmin tun.D. Cv

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

0. E. WILLIAMS.

MACHINE FOR TWISTING SNAPS FOR WHIPS. No. 277,967.

Patented May 22,1883.

N. PETERS. Phm-utho m mn Washington, D. c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets--Sheet 3.

G. H. WILLIAMS.

MACHINE FOR TWISTING SNAPS FOR-WHIPS.

No. 277,967. Patented May 22, 1883.

N, PETERS. Pmwum n w, wahimm o4;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

UHARLES E. VVILLTAMS, OFWVESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.-

MACHINE FOR TWISTING SNAPS FOR WHIPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 277,967, dated May 22,1883.

Application filed April 22, 1882. "(No model.)

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. WILLIAMS, of Westfield, in the county ofHampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvemen tin Machines for Twisting Snaps for Whips, of which thefollowing is a specification and description.'

The object of my invention is to provide a machine to twist snaps of anydesired length, and from a series of continuous threads or strands, andby which snaps may be uniformly twisted, each composed of threads orstrands made of different material, and by which snaps of differentlengths maybe twisted and finished without stopping the machine and Iaccomplish this'by the mechanism substantially as hereinafter described,and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigurelisaperspectiveviewofmyinvention, showing both the upper andlowerportions ot' the machine, and the arrangement of geared wheels forrotating the racers, one of the legs of the table being broken away toshow the parts of the machine beyond. Fig. 11 is a perspective view,showing the upper part of the machine; and Fig. III is a reverse planview of the machine. 7

In the drawings, 1 represents a table or bench properly supported, andin which is a suitable thimble or sleeve, 2, preferably ofmetal, andplaced in a vertical position, through which extends a tube, 2, and inwhich said tube has its bearing, so as to revolve freely. This tube issecured fast to a large toothed wheel, 18,

with a plate or disk, 4, above said wheel, and a similar plate, 5, belowit, resting upon the sleeve 52 in the table, and I secure these twoplates together by bolts or rivets, withthe tube extending through saidplates, sothat the latter may revolve independently of the tubes. Theplates 4 and 5 are fitted to the tube 2 sufficiently loose to permit thelatter to revolve on its axis independently of said plates, or whilethey remain stationary. To preventthe plates from tilting into aninclined position'while resting on the top of the sleeve 52, .I secure acollar, 50, to the tube just above the upper plate, 4, which operates tokeep the plates in a horizontal position, even when the friction-roll isforced down thereon, as hereinafter described.

tending up'from one of the spools.

A series of toothed wheels, 17, arearrauged to revolve between theplates 4 and .5, each said wheel fixed to ashaft or spindle having itsbearing at its lower end in the lower plate, 5, and which shaft extendsup through the upper plate,'4, with a hub, 53, secured to its upper end,said wheels being so disposed that their teeth may-engage with the teethof the large toothed wheel 18. A disk secured to each hub has an uprightpost, 7, secured thereto, upon which, asa spindle, is to be placed atubular spool, upon which the material to be twisted is wound, and whoseupper end is provided with ratchet-teeth 8. A post, 10, is also securedto said disk and extends up to a point somewhat above the spool, with apieceat its upper end, which projects toward and partially over thespool and is provided with an eye, 55. As this piece is permanentlyfixed to the post, I propose in practice to makeit and the post all inone piece, to obviate anyliability of its getting loose. Two projectionsor buttons, 11, are made ,on said post, one near its upperend and theother at -some distance below and upon opposite sides 0f.the post. A

spring, 12, is attached to the disk connected with the hub 53, with ahook at the upper end of said spring; and a rod or wire, 9, is insertedin the uppereud of each spool, the upper part of which rod extendsoutward, nearly at a right angle to its lower part, directly over theupper end of the spool, and engages with the ratchetteeth 8 thereon.Theextreme end of the horizontal part of said rod bears against the post10.

A shaft, 19, is supported in suitable bearin gs beneath the table, uponwhich Iplaee two pulleys, 56 and 57, side by side, one loose, and theother fast to the shaft. A bevel-gear wheel is fixed to the end of saidshaft, and a corresponding bevel-gear wheel is fixed to the lower end ofthe tube 2, which extends down through its bearing in the table, bothbevelgear wheels being shown engaged together at 20. A rod, 3, locatedwithin the tube 2, is provided at its upper end with a head,.15, fittedso as to revolve freely thereon, and this head is provided with a seriesof thread-grooves, 16, each adapted to receive a thread or strand ex- 3extends down through the tube 2 to a point This rod.

below the bevel-gear wheel on the lower end of the tube,with aprojection, 21, on the lower end of the rod.

A vertical box, 22, is secured fast beneath the table,with a verticalslot or opening, 23, through one side, and the projection 21 extendsthrough this slot or opening into the box, so that as the rod 3 moveseither up or down the projection will have a corresponding movementwithin the box. A small pulley, 26, is secured in the upper part of thebox, with a band or chain, 27, extending over it, one end of which issecured to theprojection 21 within the vertical box, and the other endis secured to a weight, 30, outside the box, so that when there is nothread or material to be twistedin placein the machine the said weightwill cause the rod 3 to rise to its highest position within the tube 2.

A rod, 24, is supported by a ledge or projection on the box 22, and isheld in a vertical position by the side of the box 22 by means ofsuitable bearings or guides, so that said rod may move freely either upor down. An adjustable dog, 25, is adapted to be secured by a set-screwat any desired point on the rod, and a vertical holeis made in the dog,through which the band or chain 27 may pass freely while the dog remainsstationary.

A lever, 36, is pivoted to the lower side of the table, one arm of whichextends out directly above the upper end of the rod 24, and whose otherarm is adapted to engage with and hold back one arm of another lever,28, pivoted to the lower side of the table.

A belt-shifter, 29, is secured and slides in bearings beneath the table,the same being pivoted to the lever 23, as shown in Fig. 3. Thisbelt-shifter is operated in one direction to stop the machine by spring37 when the lever 36 is tripped by the rod 24. To set the machine inmotion, the operator moves lever 32,which extends up in front of themachine, and therethrough moves lever 28, so that it engages with lever36. In this position the machine continues in operation until lever 36is again tripped by red 24.

An arm, 13, is pivoted to the table and extends through or beneath afixed piece, 39, through which is turned a thumb-screw, 38, whose lowerend bears upon said arm and operates to press a friction-roll, l4,pivoted in the free end of said arm upon the plate 5 with more or lessforce, according as the thumbscrew is turned in or out of the piece 39more or less. There is of course considerable friction in the working ofthe toothed wheels 17 with the toothed wheel 18, and if the frictionroll14 is not pressed down on the plate 5, upon turning the shaft 19 theplates 4 and 5 will be caused by this friction to revolve with the tube,and the toothed wheels 17 and hubs 53 will notrevolve upon their ownaxes; but if the friction-roll be pressed down with sufiicient force tocheck the speed of the plates somewhat, the wheels 17 and hubs 53 willbe made to revolve on their axes at the same time the plates arerevolved around the axis of the tube. By this construction the relativespeed ofrevolution of the hubs 53 around their axes and of the plates 4and 5 around the axis of the tube 2 may be varied by forcing thefriction-wheel 14 down upon the plate 5 more or less, until, it forceddown with sufficient pressure, the said plates will be prevented fromrevolving around with the tube, while the toothed wheels 17 and the hubsconnected therewith will continue to revolve.

The spools containing the material to be twisted are placed each upon aspindle, 7, and the thread is passed around the lower projection 11 fromits lower side, thence upward to the opposite side of the post 10, andover the upper projection 11, thence down over against the horizontalpart of the wire-9 on the side opposite said post into the hook in theupper end of the spring 12, thence upward on the other side of the wire9 through the eye 55 in the projecting top of the post 10. Each thread,being disposed in the same manner, is extended upward and inserted in agroove, 16, in the head 15, and they are all secured together above thelatter, and may be fastened to a. hook or suitable fastening to drawthem away from the twisting mechanism. The dog 25 is then adjusted byits set-screw to the desired position on the rod 24, beneath-the table,according to the length of the snap to be twisted, and the end of thebelt-shifting lever 28is moved back, so as to engage against the end ofthe lever 36, and the power can then be applied to the driving-pulley 57to actuate the machine.

I connect the plates 4 and 5 firmly one to the other by bolts or'rivets,as before mentioned, with a short piece of tube placed between saidplates and around each bolt or rivet. By this construction said platesare rigidly connected,

but a sufficient distance apart to permit the toothed wheels 17 and 18to be secured and revolve between them.

In the above-described mechanism the spring 12, the post 10, with itsprojections 11, and the wire 9 are combined with the teeth on the upperend of the spool, to form an automatic tension; and the combination ofthis tension mechanism with the spool holders or spindles 7 and all themechanism located above and connected with each toothed wheel17, andwhich is rotated by and with each said toothed wheel, I denominate theracer, and designate it by the reference-numeral 6, marked at or nearthe disk which supports most of the said mechanism.

It will be seen from the above description that in the operation oftwisting snaps by my invention I am enabled to produce a variedcombination of movements of the racers and plates, by which the qualityof the twisted material may be correspondingly varied. For example, ifthe plates 4 and 5 areheld stationary by the friction-roll while theracers are re volving on their own axes, the strands may be twisted toany desired degree of hardness, and

if the pressure of the friction-roll upon the plate is removed theplates will immediately revolve around the axis of the tube, and theracers will remain stationary as to any rotary movement on their ownaxes, this change of movement operating to twist the twisted strandstogether, above the head 15, to any desired degree of hardness.

In the operation of-twisting the separatethreads or strands, as theybecome shorter they draw upward upon the springs 12 and lift the wires 9out of the ratchet-teeth on the upper ends of the spools, and the latterare allowed to revolve and permit the thread to be unwound therefromuntil, the tension upon the springs being relieved thereby, the wiresagain drop into engagement with the teeth on the spools and hold themstationary to keep the threads taut while being twisted. After eachstrand between its spool and the head has been sufficiently twisted thepressure of the friction-roll 14: upon the plate 5 is released orpartially released, as desired, allowin gthe plate 5, which had beforeremained stationary, to revolve and twist together the strands above thehead, and their pressure upon the head during this operation forces therod 3 downward, and, by the band or chain attached to the projection atits lower end, raises the weight 30, which in its upward movementstrikes the dog 25 and moves the rod 24 upward, tripping the lever 36,and releases the belt-shifter, and stops the machine automatically. Thetwisted snap being then completed, two knots may be tied a littledistance apart, between which to sever the snaps from each other. Thelever 28 is engaged with the trip-lever 36, and the power being thenagain applied the process is repeated. The weight on the cord a littlemore than balances the rod 3; but as the snap is twisted the force orpressure of the strands upon the head of the rod 3 forces said rodgradually down ward. When one snap has been finished the operator seizesthe twisted snap above the head and pulls it upward, unwinding thethreads from the spools of the racers elevated by the action of theweight when the pressure of the threads or strands on the head isremoved.

In this last operation of twisting the separate threads together therotary movement of the plates tends to untwist the single threads whichhad been twisted; but by forcing the friction-roll14 down upon the plate5 with just the degree of pressure to slightly check the plates in theirrotary movement the racers will The rod is be caused to rotate slowly ontheir axes, just minished or inereasedrotation of the racers,-

and thereby accommodate the action of the machine to the difi'erentkindsof material being operated upon, and I am enabled to do this by merelyapplying the brake or frictionroll to the plates or releasing ittherefrom while the machine is in motion, and am not obliged to stop themachine at all in making any change of relative movement between theplates and racers.

As the purpose of the piatesand 5 is jointly to support and carry theracers, and both are firmly connected together, they may very properlybe treated as one, and be termed the carrier.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new isv l. Thecombination of a vertical tube, 2, provided with a toothed wheel, avertically-movable rod, 3, extending through said tube, a balance-weightconnected with the lower end of said rod, a thread-supporting headfitted to revolve upon the upper end of said rod, a carrier looselyfitted to revolve upon said tube, a

series of revolving racers, each containing a spool, a tension devicehaving a toothed wheel secured thereto, and a friction-roll to impingeupon said carrier to control its rotary movement and that ot'the racers,substantially as described. 2. The combination of a vertical tube,2,provided with a toothed wheel, a vertically-moving rod,3, extendingthrough said tube, a balance-weight, 30, connected with the lower end ofsaid rod, a thread-supporting head fitted to revolve upon the upper endof said rod, a carrier loosely fitted to revolve upon said tube, aseries of racers each containing a spool, a tension device having atoothed wheel secured thereto, a friction-roll to impinge upon andcontrol the rotary movement of said carrier and racers, alongitudinally-sliding rod, 24, provided with an adjustable dog, 25,adapted to- WILLIAMS.

